McReynolds Shows His Old Team What It’s Missing : Met Outfielder Ends Hitting Slump, Stars With Glove Against Club That Traded Him

Kevin McReynolds wasn’t particular about where he came out of it. He was getting desperate for any kind of a hit, anywhere.

When McReynolds returned Monday to his old haunt at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, he was mired in an 8-for-48 slump. That was a .167 pace, not exactly what the pennant-minded New York Mets have in mind for the No. 5 man in their batting order.

As Met Manager Davey Johnson put it, “He went through a real long dry spell. He was terrible.”

That was before McReynolds began hitting the hand that used to feed him. He mauled Padre pitching for 8 hits in 16 times at bat, a .500 average, as the Mets became the first team in five years to sweep a four-game series on the Padres’ home grounds.

This was in sharp contrast to McReynolds’ season statistics here last year--a .200 average, 9 for 45.

But take McReynolds’ word for it: He didn’t care a whit that he had ended his drought at the expense of the team he played for from 1983 through 1986.

“This is just another stop on the road, as far as I’m concerned,” McReynolds said after the Mets’ 9-4 victory Thursday. “I don’t have any special feelings about this ballpark or this ballclub. I’m just happy I finally got a few base hits, and we won every game.”

In his four-day “homecoming,” McReynolds raised his average from .264 to .295. And he might have boosted it over .300 if he hadn’t hurt his right hand on the second of two singles in five at-bats in the series’ last game.

“That was the hardest I’ve been jammed by a pitch in a long time,” McReynolds said. “(Ed) Whitson hit me so hard on the fists that I could hardly grip a bat in my two at-bats after that. My hand is still sore.”

McReynolds didn’t confine his torment of the Padres to his hitting. He made a couple of fine running catches early in the series and saved his best for Thursday. He robbed John Kruk of a home run with a leaping catch above the left-field wall in the first inning, then almost did the same to Keith Moreland in the eighth. Moreland’s drive trickled off his glove and dropped over the wall for one of the more unusual homers of the year.

“I got the first one firmly in my glove,” McReynolds said. “There’s no question that it would have been a home run. On the other one, I had the ball right on the end of my glove, but as soon as I hit the wall, it didn’t stay in long.

“The second one was a lot harder to catch. The ball kept carrying and drifting, and the sun was a lot more of a factor.”

McReynolds’ emergence as an outstanding left fielder with the Mets constitutes a sharp turnaround from his days in San Diego. As a center fielder most of the time with the Padres, he was barely adequate.

“He’s the best in the league at his position as far as I’m concerned,” Manager Johnson said. “He really works on his defense.”

First baseman Keith Hernandez, who matched McReynolds’ 8-for-16 hitting here, said: “He does everything well. He’s a great defensive outfielder, he has a great arm, he’s an outstanding hitter, and he’s our best baserunner. He doesn’t say much. He just goes about his job.”

Catcher Gary Carter added, “Kevin is a great offensive player and a great defensive player. He’s just what we lacked in the middle of our lineup. That’s why we gave up so much to get him.”

The Mets acquired McReynolds from the Padres in an eight-player trade after the 1986 season. They sent third baseman Kevin Mitchell, outfielders Shawn Abner and Stanley Jefferson and pitchers Kevin Brown and Kevin Armstrong to the Padres for McReynolds, pitcher Gene Walter and infielder Adam Ging.

Of the five men the Padres got in the deal, only Abner is on the current big-league roster. Mitchell went to the San Francisco Giants in a seven-player trade last July, and the others are in the minors.

The Padres dealt Mitchell and pitchers Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts to the Giants for third baseman Chris Brown and pitchers Mark Davis, Mark Grant and Keith Comstock. Davis has become an excellent relief pitcher, and Grant has shown promise as a starter, but Brown has been a disappointment, and Comstock has struggled out of the bullpen.

For the Padres, then, the jury remains out on the two-trade combination. For the Mets, though, the verdict is in. McReynolds has filled their one key need.

“Kevin is the ideal role-player,” said Bill Robinson, the Mets’ batting coach. “He’s one of the best streak hitters around, and he gets everything in the outfield. He fits in perfectly in our lineup.”